45596 ‘Bahamas’ Steam Locomotive passes through Pewsey

The pic above was taken of Steam locomotive 45596 Bahamas as it passed through Pewsey on Saturday 24 July by Ken Mumford.

Although Ken got well and truly held up in the traffic in and around Marlborough on the way to Pewsey, ‘Bahamas’ was also running late as well so he managed to get the above pic as it passed through the station.

Ken was kept informed by the station master/porter as to progress of ‘Bahamas’, which was on its way to Taunton to haul a train between Taunton and the West Country on Sunday.

45596 Bahamas was built in 1934 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow for the London Midland & Scottish Railway having been designed by Sir William Stanier. 45596 is the only ‘double chimney’ Jubilee locomotive after being fitted with it in 1961 as part of a trial. This trial was the final attempt by British Railways to improve the performance of its steam fleet.

Bahamas was purchased from British Railways in 1967 for preservation by the Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS), a registered charity. Later it was sent to the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds after which it appeared in March 1978 carrying LMS crimson lake livery as No. 5596. Its latest overhaul took place between 2013 and 2019 at Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham.

Now as No. 45596 it now runs in BR green livery. ‘Bahamas’ was the very last engine to be experimented on in BR’s attempt to improve the performance of its steam fleet in the 1960s and its recent overhaul to main line running condition was achieved with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and only runs a limited number of tours each year. When not in use it’s based at the headquarters of the Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS) based at Ingrow on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Thanks to Ken Mumford for the story and pic.